Eating Around: Heirloom Beans

Updated Jan. 8, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET

Today's menus are full of ingredients that sound like they should be auctioned off on eBay, like heritage turkeys and vintage steak.

The latest antiquity: heirloom beans. While the original peasant food may seem an unlikely candidate for upscaling, chefs are proudly touting that their Tongue of Fire and Steuben Yellow Eye beans come from seeds...